The subject of the present invention is a brake servo positioned against a bulkhead (dash panel) of a vehicle. Another subject of the invention is a method of mounting this brake servo against a bulkhead. The object of the invention is to make such a brake servo located in the engine compartment of a vehicle easier to mount and to connect to a brake pedal via a pedal box control located on the other side of the bulkhead, inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
The field of application of the invention is that of the seals found on a bulkhead when a vehicle is being assembled on a production line. These seals are needed whenever a cable or a moving part such as a rod or a lever is passed through an aperture in the bulkhead, from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment of the vehicle, in order to seal said aperture.
It is therefore necessary, in order to ensure the comfort and safety of the user of the vehicle, for the division created by the bulkhead between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment to be insulated as well as possible. It is therefore necessary to avoid any gap in the vicinity of an aperture or where a component passes through the bulkhead.
Thus, the seal positioned against the bulkhead, usually on the engine compartment side, is designed to eliminate these gaps. It avoids drafts inside the passenger compartment but also prevents any leaking engine exhaust gas or any emissions from any oil that has dropped onto the engine block, from distracting or even intoxicating the driver of the vehicle with toxic vapors.
This seal also makes it possible, when the vehicle is driving through a heavy storm or when the vehicle is being washed with a pressure washer, to guarantee that the passenger compartment will remain dry and free of moisture.
This seal also provides good acoustic insulation, insulating the passenger compartment from engine noise or vibration transmitted through the bulkhead.
More specifically, the seal that forms the subject of the invention is the one that provides sealing between a brake servo located on the engine compartment side and a pedal box control system located on the passenger compartment side. In the prior art, this seal follows the outline of the brake servo and, through holes, provides the openings needed for moving parts and for the studs used to attach and clamp the brake servo to the bulkhead. The brake servo is usually fitted with this seal. That being the case, there are two possible scenarios.
In the first scenario, two operators are needed on the assembly line, one on the engine compartment side to offer up the brake servo fitted with its seal and the other on the passenger compartment side to attach the brake servo and to offer up the pedal box control system. Attachment is performed, for example, using screws on the passenger compartment side screwed onto studs secured to the brake servo and passing through the bulkhead.
The need for two operators in order to perform this single operation on the vehicle assembly line gives rise to problems associated with cost and coordination.
In a second scenario, the single operator has to move around to the other side of the bulkhead in order to find, in the passenger compartment, those parts of the brake servo that will allow it to be attached correctly on the passenger compartment side. This presents problems because there is a high risk that the brake servo or at the very least its correct positioning facing the aperture in the bulkhead will be lost while the operator is moving around to the other side of the bulkhead. Now, having the brake servo positioned only approximately on the bulkhead can not only make it more difficult to connect it to the pedal box control system in the passenger compartment, but can also lead to gaps at the junction with the bulkhead, these gaps being detrimental to the sealing of the engine compartment with respect to the passenger compartment.
There are currently a small number of solutions in existence which will allow a single operator to connect the brake servo to the control pedal box from the engine compartment side and securely attach the whole thing to the bulkhead. However, the mounting method most commonly used is the one that involves assembling and securely attaching the servo brake and pedal box control from the passenger compartment side.
The problem is to successfully mount a brake servo with a seal that will allow a single operator to attach the brake servo correctly to the pedal box control in the passenger compartment in the knowledge that the brake servo will still be offered up to the bulkhead from the engine compartment side.
In the solution of the invention, the brake servo has the special feature of having an adhesive seal with a protective film for each face. Because the two faces of the seal are similar, the color of the protective films differentiates the face intended to be stuck to the brake servo from the one intended to be stuck to the bulkhead.
The brake servo fitted with its seal is offered up by the operator on the assembly line. Just before pressing it against the bulkhead, the operator removes the protective film from the second adhesive face of the seal which will thus stick to the bulkhead.
In the solution of the invention, the protective film is designed to be removed quickly in a single movement consistent with the throughput of the assembly line without the seal tearing and without the slightest scrap of protective film remaining on the face that is to be offered up to the bulkhead. In addition, the adhesion between the seal and the bulkhead is intended to support the weight of a brake servo weighing around 2 to 3 kilograms. Thus, the operator has the opportunity and the time needed to move around from the engine compartment side to the passenger compartment side without the help of a colleague and without running the risk of losing the brake servo or its alignment facing the aperture in the bulkhead.
The solution also makes it possible to maintain the correct tightening torque used to tighten the screws onto the attachment studs of the brake servo while at the same time achieving correct acoustic, thermal and mechanical sealing of the seal.
The subject of the invention is therefore a brake servo to be attached against a bulkhead in an engine compartment and screwed from the passenger compartment side of a vehicle, characterized in that the face thereof that faces toward the bulkhead has an adhesive seal.